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Description

Why do Scouts celebrate St George’s Day? Find out with a fun quiz.

Courtesy of The Scout Association
https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/run-a-st-georges-day-quiz/

Resources

A4 paper
Pens or pencils

Instructions

Before you begin:
Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough helpers, you may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short.


About St George’s Day
23 April is St George’s Day. St George is the patron Saint of England, who legend tells us slayed a dragon in ancient times, and lots of people choose to celebrate it with parades, dancing and other activities. St George was also chosen as the patron saint of Scouts. For Scouts, it’s a very special day when everyone can come together, make or renew their Promise and celebrate. Find out more about the Scout Promise and getting ready for St George’s Day.


How much do you know about St George’s Day?
1. Explain to everyone that St George’s Day is on 23 April. Does anyone know why Scouts celebrate it?
2. Tell people that it’s traditionally a time when many Scouts renew their Promise; lots of Scouts have a celebration event. This is all because Baden-Powell chose St George to be the patron saint of Scouts. Baden-Powell wanted St George’s Day to be a time to reflect on being a Scout and the Scout Promise and Law.


Run the quiz
1. Tell everyone you're going to do a quiz to find out more about St George. People could play individually, in pairs or in small teams.
2. Let everyone get into pairs or teams, if you're going to do so.
3. Give out pens, pencils and papers for everyone to use.
4. An adult volunteer or young leader should slowly read out the questions. Everyone should do their best at answering the quiz to explore who we think St George was and how St George’s Day is celebrated.
5. Repeat any questions that people may need again.
6. Now, swap sheets and read out the answers. Pause along the way to explore the answers. Did anyone find anything surprising?


St George and our Scout values
1. Remind everyone that Scouts make a promise to do their best, help others, and act with compassion. The Scout Law talks about having courage, and the version for Cubs talks about thinking of others before ourselves.
2. Now, everyone should discuss why Baden-Powell chose St George as Scouts’ patron saint.
3. Ask what characteristics or values does St George show and how do they fit with Scout values and the Promise and Scout Law (if your section has one).
4. People might suggest that St George has qualities, such as selflessness, courage, bravery, overcoming challenges or helping others.
5. Robert Baden-Powell served with a cavalry (meaning they rode on horseback) regiment in the British Army. St George is the patron saint of all cavalry soldiers, whose role is often to look for the enemy.
6. When Robert Baden-Powell set up Scouts, he thought that St George should be the patron saint of his new movement. What does everyone think of St George as the patron? Is anything surprising? How does this fit in with how we celebrate now?
7. You could share any other ways that people could get involved in celebrating St George’s Day this year. If you’ve not decided yet, now is a great time to get everyone’s ideas.


Reflection
- The legend of St George is a story of the triumph of good over evil. Can anyone think of any other occasions or festivals which celebrate this theme? One example is Diwali, often known as the festival of light.

- You may not have saved your community from any dragons recently, but what other things have you done to help your community? If you’re looking for more ways to help your community, why not take a look at our Community Impact badges.


Safety
- All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Online safety
Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

Tags

• patron saint
• promise
• quiz
• St George
• St George Quiz

Badge Links

• World - Activity